They all read the philosopher's stone
by ginevraweasleyrocks
Summary: This is adopted from xx-emo-tinkerbell-xx.james,albus,lily,rose and hugo read some books about their father.And maybe someone else too.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclamer:-I wished I owned it, but JK Rowling owns it not me.**

**Authors note:-This story is adopted from XX-emo-tinkerbell-X-X. She did the first 5 chapters.I will just post them and I will continue with the sixth chapter. This is my First fanfiction. So please don't be too r many 'maraunders read the books' but there r not that many new generation ones.I thank XX-emo-tinkerbell-X-X for letting me borrow her chapter is owned by XX-emo-tinkerbell-X-X**

Lily was looking around in the library. She'd been there for a few hours already and her brothers James and Al were just watching her. Eventually she threw her hands up in the air and said;

"That's it I give up!" then she promptly spun around on her heels and left the room.

Al and James ran up to her "what's up lilz?" James asked. Lily was exactly like Ginny in her appearance and character so it was very rare that she gave up on something.

"I want to know why everyone thinks Dad is so interesting, we know hardly anything about his past! Yet he's famous and everyone at school talks about him, haven't you ever wondered what his schooling was like? Or why he won't tell it to us, every time I ask he just says 'just wait Lilz I'll tell you when you're older, but I'm in fifth year now and you're in seventh year and Al is in sixth year it's about as close to 'old enough' as we can get isn't it?" Lily was very short of breath at the end of her little rant.

However she had been annoyed for so long now she felt relieved to give that quick little… speech. Ever since she was a baby everyone watched her, her dad had often been asked to do interviews and her family was constantly in the news when there was nothing better to report on. (Lily losing her first tooth made the front page when she was six!) What annoyed Lily the most was that whenever she asked anyone why her dad was famous, and why everyone watched her family they wouldn't tell her.

James and Al seemed to agree with Lily and were completely shocked as to why they hadn't realised this.

The three Potters entered the common room to find their closest cousins sitting there reading a note.

"Hey Lilz, Al, James come here." Hugo called them and Rosie handed them a note.

_To: James Potter, Albus Potter, Lily Potter, Rosie Weasley and Hugo Weasley._

_Earlier today (approximately eight and a half minutes ago) Lily made an excellent point. She told her brothers that it was completely unfair that the children of the Golden Trio (Ronald Weasley, Hermione Weasley and Harry Potter) didn't know their amazing story when the rest of the world did. Well I agree whole heartily with Lily, you guys have the right to know. So therefore I have arranged for you kids to take a week off school to read the Harry Potter series. Try to have an open mind and enjoy these books, they are 100% accurate and beautifully written._

_P. S- after each book you finish a new one will appear, there are seven books in total._

Lily looked at her cousins and her brothers shrugged and picked up the first book. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone._


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**Disclamer:-I don't own harry potter.*sigh***

**Author's Note:-Im just adopting the lovely work of **x-x-emo-tinkerbell-x-x .**The chapters she wrote wont take much time.i will upload it in a day or less.**

Lily opened the book and began to read.

**Chapter 1- the boy who lived**

"Hey isn't that what some people refer to Dad as?" James asked.

"Yes James it is a book about Dad so maybe this is where it came from!" Albus told his brother.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that**

**they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"B-O-R-I-N-G!" James interrupted again.

Rosie turned her head to James and said "James we have gotten through one sentence and you've interrupted twice!"

"What's you're point?" He asked, yes he did know what her point was he just liked to bug her.

"James just be quiet!" Hugo said.

James grumbled but didn't argue much to Rosie's delight.

**They were the last peopleyou'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they justdidn't hold with such nonsense.**

"Wow they are boring!" Al exclaimed but noticed the rest of his family's faces and shut himself up.

"**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very largemustache."**

Lily couldn't help herself she started laughing "flattering description isn't it?"

"Oh defiantly" Rosie was giggling too.

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual**

**amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time**

**craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

"Wow this sounds like a lovely family doesn't it?" Hugo chuckled.

**The Dursleys had a smallson called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Who want's to bet that this kid is as bad as his parents?" Lily asked.

"Ok, I bet he's not as bad as his parents." James told her confidently.

"Bad move James" Hugo told him.

"Nope I bet he's worse!" James smiled. Lily thought about this for a minute.

"Fine one galleon, I don't think a child could be as bad as I think these people will be" Lily told him.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and**

**their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think theycould bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"Oi, what's wrong with the Potters?" all the Potter kids cried.

Hugo was now laughing at their reaction said "you're related to James it's not like much can be right about the Potters."

After a few moments James seemed to have figured out what Hugo had just said then looked up "Hey! That's not fair!"

**Mrs. Potter was 's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursleypretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothinghusband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"UnDersleyish- there's no such thing!" Rosie exclaimed.

"Um.. Rose I think that's the point" Lily tried to calm her down.

**The Dursleys shudderedto think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. TheDursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never evenseen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; theydidn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Is Dad the child?" Al asked.

"I'm not sure if it is then- HOW DARE THEY TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT?" Lily's temper was playing up a little bit.

"Calm yourself Lilz, we aren't even sure it is you're dad- I could be James!" Rosie said to her cousin.

"Oh in that case it's fine" Lily was perfectly happy now.

"Oi!!" James glared at his sister who just blew him a kiss to annoy him more.

"**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story**

**starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strangeand mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his highchair."**

"Hand it over!" James laughed waiting to accept his winnings.

"Hold on just because he's screaming doesn't mean he's a complete prat!" Lily was regretting making the bet now.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursleyon the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley**

**was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

Lily handed over the galleon to a beaming James.

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

"Anyone who can call a child that throws food at the wall a 'tyke' must be completely mental" Hugo laughed

**He got into his car andbacked out of number four's was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of somethingpeculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"McGonagall!" James celebrated.

"How do you know?" Rosie asked.

"I've gotten in trouble with her so many times that I know her better than all my other teachers!" James puffed his chest out trying to look proud. Rosie groaned.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what hehad seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby catstanding on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. Whatcould he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drovearound the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was nowreading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, looking at the sign; cats couldn'tread maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out ofhis mind.**

"He's a bit paranoid isn't he?" Lily giggled.

**As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order**

**of drills he was hoping to get that on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by somethingelse. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing thatthere seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Yes incredibly strange" James said with a lot of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well, for muggles I suppose it is very strange" Rosie told him.

** couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups yousaw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

"Well I'm not sure weather or not to be insulted he technically insulted young people but on the other hand they were muggle young people" James looked like he'd never had to think so hard before.

**Hedrummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of theseweirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, thatman had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! Thenerve of him!**

"Oh yes it takes loads of nerve to wear normal clothes!" James laughed. Lily and Hugo joined in too.

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly**

**stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that wouldbe it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in theGrunnings parking lot, his mind back on . Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on theninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drillsthat morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though**

**people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owlafter owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"That's sad" Lily said. Noticing Rosie's stern look she added "I mean imagine never having seen an owl before! It's not natural"

"How many times do I have to remind you guys? Muggles use telephones not owls, they don't wear cloaks, they don't floo places and they don't use magic!" Rosie yelled, she hated repeating herself.

"Well the last one was obvious I mean if they could do magic they wouldn't be muggle would they?" Hugo pointed out to his sister who glared and Lily continued her reading.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled atfive different people.**

"Wow good job!" James said sarcastically.

**He made several important telephone calls and shouted abit more. He was in a very good mood**

"This man has a sad life" Lily laughed.

**until lunchtime, when he thought he'dstretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"He could use the exercise" All of the children except Rosie commented.

**He'd for gotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of**

**them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed.**

"Ok I know that he's not used to people in cloaks, but being angry at them is just prejudice" Rosie said (which shocked James so much he fell out of his seat!)

"Did perfect, prefect Rose Weasley just insult someone? I never thought I'd live to see the day!" James clutched his heart and pretended to faint. All the kids started laughing and Rosie coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like "prat" which just made the kids laugh harder.

**He didn't knowwhy, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, andhe couldn't see a single collecting tin.**

"Why on Earth would there be a collecting tin?" Lily asked.

Rosie (obviously) decided to explain "Well muggles who don't have much money sometimes go out on the streets to perform for money, the collecting tin is what people put the money into."

Hugo thought about this then said "Isn't that a little desperate?"

"Well Hugo they don't seem to have much of another option!" Lily felt really sorry for these poor muggles.

"Can't they get help from Gringotts?" James asked.

"Well they can borrow money but not so much and in their banks, I don't think muggles exchange money with goblins." Al said.

**It was on his way back past them,clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what theywere saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"**

"Yay the Potters" Lily, Al and James cried out. Rosie sighed.

" — **yes, their son, Harry —"**

"DAD" The Potter children cried out again.

"Shut up don't go pointing out every single person!" Rosie obviously was losing her temper.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the**

**whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his**

**secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished**

**dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver backdown and stroked his mustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid.**

"Big surprise!" James laughed.

**Potterwasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people calledPotter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure hisnephew was called Harry.**

"That is sad!" Rosie said.

"Yeah how can you not know Dad, he's famous!" Lily exclaimed.

"No he's not famous yet here" Hugo pointed out.

"Oh- but still not knowing your nephew's name is a bit pathetic" Lily said.

"Yeah" Rosie agreed.

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have beenHarvey. Or Harold.**

"Yes it _might_ be Harvey or Harold but it isn't it's Harry. Say it with me HARRY, h-a-r-r-y" James said to the book. Everyone gave him very strange looks like he'd just told him his lifelong dream was to raise a colony of dixies.

"Umm.. James you do realize the book can't hear you. Right?" Lily said while trying very hard not to laugh.

James blushed a deep red "Yeah right I know!"

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she alwaysgot so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if he'd had a**

**sister like that…but all the same, those people in cloaks.…**

"Oh Merlin I'm getting bored of this man!" Rosie sighed.

"Yeah like the muggle girl said 'let them wear cloaks'" James stood up trying to be dramatic.

"James, the phrase is 'let them eat cake'" Rosie corrected him.

"Even better!" James sighed thinking of cake.

"You are such a weirdo"

"Am not"

"Are too"

"Am not"

"Are too"

"Am not"

"Are too"

"Are too"

"haha James I'm not falling for it!" Rosie laughed.

"Damn" James snapped his fingers and sat down.

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he**

**left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straightinto someone just outside the door.**

"OH SWEET MERLIN HE KILLED HIM- that poor man never saw it coming and now he's been squished!" Lily dropped the book. "That's horrible!"

"Lilz calm down" Rosie tried to soothe her. Then Rosie picked up the book and began reading.

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

"See Lilz he wasn't squished he didn't even fall" Rosie pointed out. Lily sighed at her own stupidity while James and Hugo laughed.

"How funny would it have been if he did squish the man?"

**It was afew seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violetcloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. Onthe contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice thatmade passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset metoday! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

"Yeah where have you been the last 24 years?" James laughed.

"You idiot this is a book about the past" Rosie sighed.

**Even Muggles likeyourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"Haha he won't like that" Lily giggled.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

James, Hugo, and Albus were laughing now too "Oh he defiantly won't like that!"

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete**

**stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. Hewas rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imaginingthings, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve ofimagination.**

"What a sad sad fat man" Lily sighed shaking her head.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw — and**

**it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. Itwas now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had thesame markings around its eyes.**

"Told you it's her!" James smiled.

"lots of cats have marks around their eyes James" Rosie pointed out.

"I still say it's her!"

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"Well yeah McG. Wouln't respond to 'shoo' would she." James pointed out.

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

Lily burst out laughing "Ah the mental images that come to mind."

**Was this normal catbehavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himselfinto the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"Yes, because she's that scary!" someone commented.

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about**

**Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned anew word ("Shan't!").**

"Clever boy!" Rosie laughed.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally.**

"Best of luck!" Hugo tried not to laugh.

**When Dudley hadbeen put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report onthe evening news:"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owlshave been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at nightand are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings ofthese birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explainwhy the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern."**

"Well that is careless" Al commented.

"Not to mention completely irresponsible." Rosie added.

**The newscasterallowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin withthe weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?""Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's notonly the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent,Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain Ipromised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps peoplehave been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! ButI can promise a wet night tonight."**

"Wow, Voldemort must have been horrible- people were that happy when he supposedly died." Lily looked quite scared.

"Well, yeah even I know that" James sighed.

"WOW James you knew something!" Hugo laughed.

"Shut up" James huffed.

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls**

**flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a**

**whisper, a whisper about the Potters.…**

"Oh yeah blame it all on the Potters you jerk" Lily didn't try to hide that she was unhappy.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no**

**good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er —Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, theynormally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

*Cow* Albus coughed.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls…shooting****stars…and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today.…"**

"**So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…her**

**crowd."**

"Our Crowd- what's that supposed to mean?" Lily pursed her lips, James looked equally as annoyed.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered**

**whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn'tdare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be aboutDudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed.**

**While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom**

**window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It wasstaring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the**

**Potters? If it did...if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he**

**didn't think he could bear Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursleylay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before hefell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason forthem to come near him and Mrs. Dursley.**

James started laughing "Well I don't think they'd really want to come near you to be completely honest."

Rosie sighed "I have to say I'm glad you commented, that's the longest piece of reading I've done so far- I thought maybe you'd all fallen asleep."

Everyone chuckled at that.

**The Potters knew very well what heand Petunia thought about them and their kind....He couldn't see how he andPetunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawnedand turned over — it couldn't affect them.…**

"How very wrong he was" Al laughed thinking of how his Uncle Harry had grown up with his aunt and uncle.

**How very wrong he was.**

Everyone laughed at how Al had thought the same as the fat Dursley guy.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on thewall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue,its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much asquiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swoopedoverhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

"Like I said it our good friend Minnie McG" James said.

"Minnie McG?" Rosie sighed, "She would kill you if she ever heard you call her that!"

Lily laughed at that very typical Rosie comment "Well yeah, that's why he makes sure he doesn't get caught."

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so**

**suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"He apparated." Rosie said.

"Well duh!" James, Lily, Albus, and Hugo sighed.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin,**

**and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both longenough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak thatswept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light,bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very longand crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was**

**Albus Dumbledore.**

"Oh he was the Hogwarts Headmaster, he died when Dad was in sixth year, I heard he was an amazing wizard." Rosie gushed.

"I'm named after him!" Albus cried.

"No Al- you're named after another Albus didn't dad tell you" Lily told her brother (her voice dripping with sarcasm.)

"Nu-uh, Dad told me I was named after Albus Dumbledore the Hogwarts Headmaster!" Albus argued. The others tried to hide their laughing.

"Jeez relax Al, I was kidding" Lily giggled.

"Oh, right, I knew that!" Al blushed.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street**

**where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy**

**rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize hewas being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was stillstaring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of thecat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

"Known what?" Al asked.

"That the cat is McG!" James jumped up, Rosie sighed.

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a**

**silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again — thenext lamp flickered into darkness.**

"Hey, Dad has one of those!" Rosie said.

"Oh yeah I want one too!" Hugo added.

**Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer,**

James laughed "good word, Put-Outer."

**Untilthe only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance,which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of theirwindow now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to seeanything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped thePut-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward numberfour, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, butafter a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"HA I TOLD YOU!!!!!!!!!!" James yelled unnessicarily loudly.

"JAMES SHUT UP – we get it" Lily laughed.

"No wait Rose has to admit she was wrong." James smirked.

Rosie frowned but then sighed "fine James you were right."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH" James laughed really hard until someone hit him over the head with a pillow.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a**

**rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shapeof the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, anemerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctlyruffled.**

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor**

**McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a**

**dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"ah yes McGonagall doen't particularly approve of parties" James nodded.

"Like that stops you!" Lily giggled.

"Didn't say it did" James's smile got bigger.

Rosie mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'idiots'.

"**Oh yes, I've celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd**

**be a bit more careful, but no —even the Muggles have noticed something's**

**going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' darkliving-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…Well, they'renot completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting starsdown in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"Something tells me she doesn't like Dedalus Diggle much" Lily commented.

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little**

**to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Merlin, that would suck, eleven years with nothing to celebrate!" James sighed.

"Well I guess with people dying all the time there would be no-one who would want to celebrate anything." Al sighed too, things had been horrible during the two wars.

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to**

**lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broaddaylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

"Well that's true they are being careless" Rosie agreed.

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping hewas going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing itwould be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last,the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for.**

**Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A what?"**

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"Well that was random" Lily laughed, "Dad named Al after a nutter!"

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't**

**think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Whohas gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by hisname? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have beentrying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."**

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two**

**lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of sayingVoldemort's name."**

"**I know you haven't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated,**

**half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will**

**never have."**

"**Only because you're too — well — noble to use them."**

"Oooooh McG has a little crush!" James sighed.

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told**

**me she liked my new earmuffs."**

Everyone laughed at that.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said "The owls**

**are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what they'resaying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most**

**anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall allday, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such apiercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying,she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was , however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"**What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned**

**up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily andJames Potter are — are — that they're — dead."**

"No we aren't we are right here!" Lily sighed.

"Lilz I think she means our grandparents." Al told her.

Realization covered Lily's face. She knew her father had grown up with his aunt and uncle because his parents were murdered, she just never knew the full extent of the story.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

"**Lily and James…I can't believe it…I didn't want to believe it…Oh, Albus…"**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know…I**

**know…" he said McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not 're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But he couldn't. Hecouldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying thatwhen he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — andthat's why he's gone."**

"Well if that's the whole story then its an awfully long book if the story ends there." James said,

Rosie shook her head "No Voldemort comes back remember!"

James sighed "right"

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done…all**

**the people he's killed…he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding…of allthe things to stop him…but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her**

**eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a goldenwatch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelvehands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. Itmust have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in hispocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, bythe way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell**

**me why you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he**

**has left now."**

"**You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?" cried**

**Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four.**

"**Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't findtwo people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking hismother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come andlive here!"**

"Yeah let him go somewhere else!" James cried.

"James no matter how much you yell the past won't change!" Al told him calmly.

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle**

**will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them aletter."**

"Yes because you can explain all this in a letter." Lily sighed, the muggles wouldn't understand at all.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the**

**wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? Thesepeople will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't besurprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future**

"Sadly it's not" James looked very disappointed.

"It was going to be but Uncle Harry hates the spotlight so they didn't make it Harry Potter day" Rosie said.

"How do you know that?" Lily asked.

"I read Lilz it was all over the prophet!" Rosie and Albus were the only ones who read books willingly.

**there will bebooks written about Harry**

"Like this one!" Lily giggled.

— **every child in our world will know his name!"**

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his halfmoonglasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he canwalk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you seehow much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready totake it?"**

"He makes a good point" Rosie said, everyone looked at her like she was mental "but I agree he could have gone somewhere else."

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed,**

**and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting**

**here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he**

**might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it — wise — to trust Hagrid with something as important as**

**this?"**

"YES" all the kids said at once.

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall**

**grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — whatwas that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily**

**louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; itswelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fellout of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He**

**was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He**

**looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild — long tangles of bushy blackhair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, andhis feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular armshe was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"What's Hagrid doing with blankets?" James asked.

"I think he's carrying Dad" Al answered.

"Who cares about the blankets I want one of those motorbikes." Lily sighed.

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you**

**get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully**

**off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him,sir."**

"I was partly named after Sirius!" James said.

"No you were named after James Potter idiot" Lily told him.

"Yeah but my middle name James SIRIUS Potter" he said.

"Oh right yeah." Lily blushed she couldn't believe she had momentarily forgotten her brother's middle name.

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the**

**Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

"Awwwww" Lily and Rosie smiled. Suddenly Lily looked a bit sick.

"What's wrong Lilz?" Rosie asked.

"I just thought of my father as cute!!"

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of**

**blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jetblackhair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt oflightning.**

"THE SCAR!!!!!!" James said dramatically.

"Well yeah he's had it his whole life you prat!" Lily tried to hit him over the back of the head but luckily (for James) he ducked.

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself**

**above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well —give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

"Wow Al, you were named after a nutter!" Hugo laughed.

Albus huffed to the other kids' amusement.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his**

**great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very**

**scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a woundeddog.**

"Lovely" Lily laughed.

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and**

**burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poorlittle Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be**

**found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the armas Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.**

**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it**

**inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minutethe three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shouldersshook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light thatusually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying**

**here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike**

**back. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto**

**the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the airand off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore,**

**nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he**

**stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve ballsof light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenlyorange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at theother end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step ofnumber four.**

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish**

**of his cloak, he was gone.**

"That's really sad" Rosie sobbed.

"I know" Al and Hugo patted her on the back.

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy**

**under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things tohappen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. Onesmall hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he wasspecial, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a fewhours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put outthe milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being proddedand pinched by his cousin Dudley....He couldn't know that at this very moment,people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses andsaying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"Wow that was a really cool chapter." James said.

"Poor Dad!" Lily was so sad that her dad had to live with these people.

"Yeah come on next chapter." Hugo said.

"Alright alright." Rosie said picking up the book again.


	3. Vanishing Glass

**Disclamer:-I don't own harry potter.i know!!lifes not fair………**

"ok I guess we should continue with the next chapter" Hugo said.

"I'll read this time" Al said taking the book from his cousin.

"Hey Dad is only about one in the last chapter won't this story be kind of boring, you know watching him growing up every day!" James asked.

"Well maybe it skips some years, go on Al read." Lily told her brother.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their**

**nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"See ten years had past" Rosie said.

"Whatever it's a boring place" Hugo told her.

"With boring inhabitants – except Dad" Lily laughed.

**The sunrose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on theDursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactlythe same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fatefulnews report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece reallyshowed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots ofpictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloredbonnets**

"Oh Merlin the kid is comparable to a beach ball!!!" All the kids were howling with laughter.

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographsshowed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playinga computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. Theroom held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

The three Potter kids growled.

"That's just horrible! I bet they completely ignore him!" Rosie cried.

"GITS!" James and Lily yelled until Hugo threw a pillow at them.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His**

**Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise ofthe day.**

"**Up! Get up! Now!"**

Hugo had actually yelled that and his brother and sister fell off their chairs.

"Don't use that voice ever again!" Lily told him.

"Still what a horrible first thing to here in the mooring" Rosie was so much like Hermione, she hated seeing any person or creature mistreated.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"**Up!" she screeched.**

"She could think of a nicer way to wake someone up!" James said.

"What that's how you wake me up!" Al complained.

"Well I could do this-" James jumped up on a table and started singing GOOD MORING SUNSHINE!!

"Dear Merlin James Sirius Potter has officially lost it!" Lily hit her head against the table.

"Hahaha love you too Lilz" James laughed. Lily stuck her tounge out at him.

**Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then**

**the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back andtried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. Therehad been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the samedream before.**

"Hey that's not a dream!" Hugo cried.

"Wow Hugo that was clever of you." Rosie smacked her hand on her head, her brother could be so embarrassing some times!!

"Gosh you guys bicker like your parents do!" Lily giggled.

"Gross Lilz" Hugo whined.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

"**Nearly," said Harry.**

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare**

**let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned.**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"**Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten?**

"Because Dudley doesn't deserve to have his birthday remembered" Lily growled.

"I second that!" Hugo laughed.

"I third it!" James added.

"I fourth it" Al smiled. Everyone turned to look at Rosie.

"-no comment-" Rosie said to her family. Lily mumbled something that most people couldn't hear except the words 'fun sucker'. Rosie glared at her.

**Harry got slowly out ofbed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, afterpulling a spider off one of them,**

Hugo flinched and hid behind his sister. He had inherited his father's arachnophobia. Everyone started laughing.

**put them on. Harry was used to spiders,because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them,**

"So… why does he spend so long in there?" James asked (rather stupidly)

**and that was where heslept.**

Those six words caused a complete uproar in the kids. Lily's reaction was by far the scariest.

"THOSE COMPLETE (then she said a few colourful swear words that made Rosie throw a pillow at her and say "Lily Potter, don't let my mum hear you talking like that!") THOSE PEOPLE ARE SO HORRIBLE THAT MUST BE CHILD CRUELTY MAKING A KID SLEEP IN A CUPBORD!!!!!!!"

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was**

**almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though**

**Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second**

**television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was amystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise**

The furious mood that had been hanging around the room vanished at Harry's thoughs.

"How lovely" Rosie managed to say between giggles.

**unless of courseit involved punching somebody.**

Lily sighed "such a nice boy" (but yes much sarcasm was used.)

"Oh yes very lovely!" James laughed.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

The kids all growled and looked ready to kill someone. Rosie actually shivered at the look on James's face.

**Buthe couldn't often catch him.**

James threw his hands in the air and yelled "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO, GO DAD!"

**Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"Just like Albus" Lily giggled. Her parents were always pointing out Al's similarity's to her Dad and Lily's similarity's to her Mum.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry**

**had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"No he's genetically scrawny" Lily giggled, so did the other kids.

"Shut up guys." Al blushed.

"NO" James yelled leaping to his feet "Lets annoy Albus Severus Potter!"

Al then waved his wand and James's hair went rainbow.

"no let's annoy James Sirius Potter" Al smiled.

"No- let's get back to the book!" Rosie said with the same authority in her voice that she uses in prefect meetings.

**He looked even smaller andskinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes ofDudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thinface, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"Just like Al!" Lily pointed out.

**He wore round glassesheld together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley hadpunched him on the nose.**

"Guys we need to hex this Dudley kid" Lily told the other kids.

"Yeah" all the other kids said too.

"Wow Perfect Prefect Rosie agrees!" James gasped and cluched his heart.

"Hahaha" Rosie laughed sarcasitacally.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearancewas a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"Well that means that Dad doesn't like Al's appearance because he doesn't have a scar but other than that they're identical!" James laughed. Albus frowned.

**Hehad had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could everremember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask**

**questions."**

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the**

**Dursleys.**

"THAT'S TERRIBLE YOU CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING WITHOUT ASKING QUESTIONS!!" Rosie yelled. Eveyone burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked.

"Well it's funny that you find the lack of learning opportunity annoying but not the fact that they are lying about Dad's parents- so my grandparents deaths" Lily laughed. Rosie blushed as red as her hair.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and**

**shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts thanthe rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hairsimply grew that way — all over the place.**

James and Albus 'High-fived' each other they loved having the trademark 'Potter boys' hair.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his**

**mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not**

**much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly onhis thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

Al started to laugh "Sounds more like a pig in a wig!"

**Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

All the kids laughed.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as**

**there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. Hisface fell.**

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less**

**than last year."**

"Spoiled brat!" Lily spat.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under**

**this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who**

**could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon asfast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And**

**we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin?Two more presents. Is that all right"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said**

**slowly, "So I'll have thirty...thirty..."**

"Oh my word he can't count!" Rosie looked faint.

"I know -the horrors!" James laughed.

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"Yes sweetums, thirty- nine you spoiled fat brat!" James glared at the book.

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right**

**then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!"**

**He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it**

**while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a videocamera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

" I don't know what any of that is!" James laughed.

"A racing bike is like a muggle broom that doesn't fly, a video camera is like a camera that takes long moving and talking photos, a remote control airplane is an airplane controlled buy a type of metal wand, and a VCR is a television type thing" Rosie explained. She took Muggle Studdies and she went to visit Grand and Grandpa Granger every summer with her parents.

**Hewas ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came backfrom the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take**

**him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every yearon Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, toadventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry wasleft behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harryhated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made himlook at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"Oh the fun!!" James yelled his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd**

**planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken herleg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year beforehe had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"Well that's not a nice thing to think but I see his point." Rosie laughed.

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there**

**or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understandthem, like a slug.**

"Oi don't compare my Dad to a slug you fat man!" Lily hissed.

"Really Lilz the best insult you could come up with was 'fat man'" Hugo shook his head in dissapointment.

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to**

**watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go onDudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

James fell to the floor laughing.

"What is it James" Al asked.

"Nothing- just the mental images that sentence invites." James sighed and the others started laughing too!

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "…and**

**leave him in the car.…"**

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone.…"**

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been**

**years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face andwailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"stupid git" James said.

"**Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special**

**day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

It took about ten minutes to calm everyone down from laughing so hard.

"Dinky Duddydums that's the best name ever" James and Lily had tears in their eyes.

"**I…don't…want…him…t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend**

**sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through thegap in his mother's arms.**

"PRAT!!"All the Potter kids yelled.

"Yes we get it Dinky Duddydums is a git but stop commenting on every praty thing he does!" Rosie told them.

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt**

**Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss,walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.**

"Such a flattering description" Lily giggled but she caught the look in her cousin's eyes so she shut up.

**He wasusually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hitthem. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

The Potters shot a pleading glance at Rosie who nodded.

Hundeds on insults were being fired at the book, after about five minutes the kids were running out of instults and started making random things up such as,

"Flabberlosen" (Al)

"Fattyuglybuttyheady!" (Lily)

"Evil twisted backwards, so not in a comfortable position, mean bullying man bitch!" (Hugo)

"Gazelle breath" (James)

All the heads turned to James

"How do you know what a Gazelle's breath smells like?" Rosie asked.

"Trust me Rose you don't want to know so I'll just leave that up to your imagination!"

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the**

**back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for thefirst time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anythingelse to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to**

**Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — andyou'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

A low growl was heard but nobody knew where it came from.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was**

**just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking**

**as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut hishair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left**

"**to hide thathorrible scar."**

"But Dad's scar is cool!" Lily said.

"Yeah" The other kids agreed.

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless**

**night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for hisbaggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up tofind his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.****Hehad been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried toexplain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting**

**old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

"Lovely fashion sense this woman has right?" Rosie giggled.

**The harder she tried topull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might havefitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia haddecided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn'tpunished.**

Sighs of relief were heard from all around the room.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the**

**roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when,as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on thechimney.**

"Well he has been using a lot of accidental magic, but accidental apparation is really cool!" Rosie laughed.

"COOL" James and Lily sighed.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's**

**headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But allhe'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of hiscupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harrysupposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with**

**Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his**

**cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

"Who wants to bet something goes wrong?" James asked.

"James that's horrible, betting on your Dad's misfortune!" Rosie scolded.

"Ok so do you want to bet?" He asked.

"No you're probably right" Rosie sighed.

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to**

**complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, andHarry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"…**roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a****motorcycleovertook them.**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It**

**was flying."**

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around**

**in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache:**

"**MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

"He really shouldn't have brought it up" Hugo said.

"They shouldn't have over-reacted!" Lily snapped at him.

Hugo ran to hide under the table.

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys**

**hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anythingacting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon —**

**they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

James laughed "These sad, sad people."

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The**

**Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entranceand then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wantedbefore they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. Itwasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratchingits head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

Everyone (yes everyone including Rosie) burst out laughing.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk**

**a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were startingto get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favoritehobby of hitting him.**

A muffled word 'git' came from somewhere near Lily.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had atantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top,**

**Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the**

**first.**

"Wait Dad is being fed TABLE SCRAPS?" Lily shrieked. However she quickly re gained control.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there,**

**with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards andsnakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley andPiers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped itsbody twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but atthe moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the****glisteningbrown coils.**

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass,**

**but the snake didn't budge.**

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with**

**his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He**

**wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no companyexcept stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it allday long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the onlyvisitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he gotto visit the rest of the house.**

"That's disturbing, Dad's life was as fun as a zoo snake!" Al sighed. James and Lily nodded their heads in agreement.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its**

**head until its eyes were on a level with Harry' winked.**

"Wait what??" Rosie sat up.

"Wow for someone who lives with people who despise imagination he sure has an overactive one" Al laughed.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"This is creepy, Dad and a snake are having a wink fest!!" James said.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its**

**eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

"**I get that all the time."**

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the**

**snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

"DAD'S A PARSLEMOUTH?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Lily jumped up.

"I guess" Rosie answered pulling her crazy cousin back down.

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

"**Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This**

**specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of**

**them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS**

**SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

"Jeeze Al you didn't have to yell that part!" Lily, Rosie and Hugo whined. James was laughing at everyone's expression until he was punched in the arm by his sister.

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by**

**surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened sofast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaningright up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"Oh No, what happened?" Rosie looked scared.

"Who cares, I hope piggy and rat boy deserve it though" James rubbed his hands together.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had**

**vanished.**

"AWSOME- DAD IS SO COOL!!!!!" The Potter kids celebrated.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the**

**floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running forthe exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing**

**voice said, "Brazil, here I come.… Thanksss, amigo."**

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"It disappeared you twat!" James sighed at the man's apparent stupidity.

"James in the muggle world things don't just randomly dissapear.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea**

**while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. Asfar as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully attheir heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car,Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers wasswearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**

"That is so sad!" Lily giggled at the idiot boys.

"I know" Everyone else laughed too "anything for a good story I guess."

**But worst of all, for Harry at least,was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you,Harry?"**

"That's right go get him into trouble rat boy!" James yelled at the book.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting**

**on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go —**

**cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt**

**Petunia had to run and get him a large lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn'tknow what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some 'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long ashe could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that**

**car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had , when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, hecame up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning painon his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imaginewhere all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

None of the kids said anything they were all completely white.

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden toask questions. There were no photographs of them in the he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of someunknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; theDursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) thatstrangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were,too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shoppingwith Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew theman, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything.A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him onceon a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand inthe street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdestthing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the secondHarry tried to get a closer look.**

"Well the wizards seem to know of him" Rosie smiled.

"Yeah at least strangers are nice to him" Lily pretended to find that good.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that**

**odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody likedto disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Wow well other than Dads awesome snake thing, that was a horrible chapter." Al sighed.

"I know, poor daddy!" Lilly cried.


	4. The letters from no one

**Disclamer:-I don't own harry potter.**

"Come on guys next chapter!!" James cried he was looking forward to reading about magic, all this muggle stuff was boring him.

"Yep, ok James calm down!" Rosie pulled him down so he was sitting and she picked up the book and began to read.

"Alright chapter three 'Letters From No One'" She read.

"Wait what?" Lily asked.

"Yeah how can you get letters form no one?" Al asked.

"No idea just let Rose read" Hugo told them.

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever**

**punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summerholidays had started**

"WHAT HE'S MISSING SCHOOL!!!" Rosie's head looked like it was on fire, and her face was as red as her hair.

"Yes Rosie that's the very worst thing that could possibly happen!" James told her (with much intended sarcasm!)

"Shut up" Rosie mumbled but continued reading.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera,crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike,knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Such a sweet, kind boy" Lily laughed.

"Poor Mrs. Figg" Al sighed.

"That's not fair Uncle Harry should have gotten the stuff he wouldn't have destroyed it all!" Rosie complained.

Hugo shook his head at his sister "Rose, I honestly don't think they care" he told her. She nodded and went back to reading.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang,**

**who visited the house every single day.**

"Ugh that would suck!" James gasped "It's like detention on the weekends!"

"Yeah but you have had detention on the weekends, quite a lot too!" Lily pointed out.

"I know but it does suck" He told her.

"Whatever just keep reading!" Al knew the argument would have lasted ages had he not interrupted.

**Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordonwere all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot,**

James started to laugh, "He should be the leader!"

Hugo laughed too "He probably is!"

**Hewas the leader.**

Everyone was laughing now, James and Hugo were right about that.

Rosie shook her head "Why do people put idiots in charge?"

"When has that happened, other that just now I mean" James asked (he really loved proving Rose wrong).

"Well" Rosie thought then she smiled at James "They made you captain of the Quiddich team."

The comment made James gasp then shout "UNCALLED FOR!!!" Then he pretended to faint to make the scene more dramatic.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's**

**favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

Lily clenched her fists and Al and Hugo tried to calm her down.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house,**

**wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he couldsee a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off tosecondary school**

"What?" James and Hugo asked.

"Secondary school, like high school" Rosie told them, it didn't seem to help though. "When muggles are little kids they go to primary school which is easier then they go to secondary school for older kids, which is a bit harder." Rose had slowed her voice down she sounded like she'd be explaining this to a little four year old.

"I don't see the point but whatever" James laughed.

**and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.**

All the kids started celebrating "YAAY HE'S BEING SEPARATED FORM THE PIGGY GIT!!" James yelled.

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to**

**Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he**

**told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

"**No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible asyour head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could workout what he'd said.**

"That's so cool" Lily and Al smiled. James on the other hand pouted,

"He says not to talk back to people, that's really hypocritical!"

"Wow big word Jamesey" Lily laughed. James pouted again.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings**

**uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turnedout she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quiteas fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit ofchocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"oh that can be really bad for you, he shouldn't have eaten it!" Rosie exclaimed.

"Honestly Rosie it's the only chocolate he gets!!" Hugo argued. Rosie nodded in agreement.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his**

**brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange**

**knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobblysticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking.**

"I highly doubt that's what it's meant to be used for" Rosie shook her head, she couldn't believe how stupid this boy was.

"Wow I want one!!" James sighed.

"James you have a wand- you can hex people when teachers aren't looking" Lily told him.

"Oh yeah! I knew you weren't as dumb as people say you are!" James laughed and lily hit him on the back of the head.

**This wassupposed to be good training for later he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon saidgruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**

"poor man" Hugo sighed.

"Why?" Rosie asked him, she felt no pity whatsoever for her uncle's uncle.

"Well he can't have had many proud moments can he?" Hugo told her and everyone burst out laughing.

**Aunt Petunia burst intotears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

This nickname earned another round of uncontrollable laughter from the kids.

**he looked sohandsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought twoof his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

Everyone laughed at that too.

"I must say I'm impressed with his self control!" James knew he would make fun of any of his cousins had they looked so ridiculous.

*** * ***

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went infor breakfast.**

"Oh look, Dudley's up!" Lily giggled.

**It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. Hewent to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming ingray water.**

"What?" James turned to Rosie.

"I don't know lets read and find out." She told him.

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did**

**if he dared to ask a question.**

"Nooooo not a question, the horror!!!" Lily gasped mocking her father's crazy aunt.

"**Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old**

**things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

"Doubt it!" Albus laughed.

**Harry seriously doubted this,**

"Haha, father son resemblance!" Rosie and Lily giggled.

**but thought it best not to argue.**

"Good" Rosie nodded in approval.

"BORING" James and Lily shouted , they were getting bored, and hoped their father would stir up some drama!

**He sat downat the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his firstday at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin,probably.**

"How nice" Lily sighed. (yes she knew she was kindof overdoing the sarcasm but some things cannot be helped!)

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the**

**smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usualand Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"**Make Harry get it."**

"**Get the mail, Harry."**

"**Make Dudley get it."**

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"That's unfair" Hugo complained.

"Yeah we know" Lily told him.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay**

**on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was**

**vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and— a letter for Harry.**

"THE HOGWARTS LETTER" All the kids cheered .

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic**

**band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him.**

"That's sad!" Lily sighed, they had such a perfect life compared to how crappy her father's life had been.

**Who would? He hadno friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd nevereven got rude notes asking for books back.**

James got up and hugged Rosie then he patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Rosie soon he will be able to get books I know it's horrible living without books but he will make it through!"

Rosie huffed and everyone else laughed.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so**

**plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

"How nice it's addressed specificly to his cupboard!" Rosie laughed.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the**

**address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax sealbearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a largeletter H.**

"Well it's definantly the Hogwarts letter" Al said.

"Duh" Lily giggled.

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you**

**doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"But it isn't funny" James pointed out.

"Whats a bomb?" Lily asked.

"It's a muggle thing used to blow things up" Rosie told them.

"Oh then yeah it's not funny!" Lily hadn't really expected it to be funny but whatever.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle**

**Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow**

**envelope.**

"No!" Al said.

"What he needs to open his Hogwarts letter!" James told him as if he was a little kid.

"Yeah but not infront of the Dursleys!" Al told him.

"Oh right yeah, Don't open it!"

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the**

**postcard.**

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk.…"**

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the**

**same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of hishand by Uncle Vernon.**

"**That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open**

**with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than aset of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayishwhite of old porridge.**

"**cool his face is changing colors!" James looked completely awestruck!**

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out**

**of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a**

**moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and madea choking noise.**

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley**

**were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father asharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"**I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back**

**inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

Lily smiled "way to keep your temper down Dad!"

"**Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the**

**scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen doorbehind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight overwho would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses danglingfrom one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door andfloor.**

"Come on he should at least get to listen through the keyhole as it is his letter!" James pointed out.

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address— how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they'rewatching the house?"**

"Someone's a little paranoid" Lily sang.

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon**

**wildly.**

James laughed, "someone's a lot paranoid."

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't**

**want —"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the**

**kitchen.**

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…Yes,**

**that's best…we won't do anything…"**

"**But —"**

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took**

**him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"Magic is not dangerous nonsence!" Lily growled. Rosie noticed her cousin looking particularly dangerous, so she said

"Except if you let James do magic outside of school" James pouted but didn't bother deniying it.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'dnever done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"Why aren't I surprised by this?" Rosie asked.

"Because they are all a bunch of prats and being un-pratty would be too hard for them" Lily hissed.

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed**

**through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I**

**have burned it."**

"It was not a mistake, it had his cupboard on it" Al said his temper going short.

"**It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

Most of the kids couldn't help but laugh.

"That was sort of creepy" James said to a very annoyed looking Albus.

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the**

**ceiling.**

Hugo shuddered. Lily laughed at him and Hugo glared back.

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which**

**looked quite painful.**

"Yeah I doubt he's familiar with the highly complicated concept of smiling" James pushed his glasses up his nose to try and look professional. Rosie stared at him for a minute before saying "James I think that's the smartest I've ever heard you sound!"

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been**

**thinking…you're really getting a bit big for it…we think it might be nice if youmoved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"WHAT!!! DAD HAS TO SLEEP IN A BLOODY CUPBOARD AND THE BRAT GETS TWO ROOMS!!!!!!" Lily yelled, Al and James looked downright furious too.

"**Why?" said Harry.**

"Don't question it or they'll take it back!" Al instructed.

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt**

**Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where**

**Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn'tfit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to moveeverything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bedand stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-oldvideo camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once drivenover the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-evertelevision set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program hadbeen canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot thatDudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf withthe end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books.**

"Wow most of that room is filled with rubbish that that boy doesn't need, and they need a whole room to put it in" Rosie made it very obvious how disgusted she was.

"Let me guess Rose the part of the room that seems ok to you is the books" James knew he was right he just liked to tease his cousin.

"Shut up" Rosie snapped "but yes it is good the boy reads."

**They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never beentouched.**

"Or not" Hugo laughed again, Rosie looked horrified.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother,****"I don't**

**want him in there…I need that room…make him get out..."**

"Yeah yeah sure you do piggy boy now shut up" Lily yawned.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given**

**anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that**

**letter than up here without it.**

"He's quite pessimistic really isn't he" James noted.

"No I think he's just overly curious" Rosie told him.

"Yeah right, he did tell me that too much curiosity can get you into trouble, I guess that's how he knows." James answered.

"When did he tell you that?" Al asked.

"Oh when you told Mum that I'd been called into the hedmistress' office for trying to get through that door that someone said lead to the kitchens in third year. Yeah he owled me then and said that too much curiosity can get you into trouble." James tried to explain the whole scenario really quickly.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock.**

**He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on**

**purpose,**

"How do you be sick on purpose?" James asked remembering that muggles couldn't charm themselves to be sick or charm anything to make them sick.

"You stick your fingers down your thought then you vomit" Lily told him.

"Ummmm, Lilz why do you know that?" Rosie asked concerned.

"A few girls in my dorm used to do that to make themselves lose weight, I don't though so don't worry" She told her.

"Girls are crazy" Hugo laughed, but then Rosie and Lily each hit him over the back of the head.

**kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse**

**roof,**

"Poor tortoise!!" Rosie cried.

"You're so much like Mum!" Hugo complained. The Potters laughed.

**and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time**

**yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall.**

"Yes that would have been smart!" Al sighed.

"But he didn't open it in the hall so get over it!" Lily giggled.

**Uncle Vernonand Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to**

**Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his**

**Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another**

**one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

"Haha now they should give Dad a bigger room!!" James laughed.

"I doubt it" Al sighed.

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the**

**hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the**

**ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that**

**Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minuteof confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick,Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutchedin his hand.**

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry.**

"**Dudley — go — just go."**

"Yeah go away piggy nobody wants you here so just leave!!" James shouted.

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had movedout of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter.**

**Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn'tfail. He had a plan.**

"Something tells me something is going to go wrong here" Al told them.

"Shut up Al" Lily snapped.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned itoff quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stoledownstairs without turning on any of the was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and getthe letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across thedark hall toward the front door —**

"**AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the**

**doormat — something alive!**

"Oh Merlin!" Rosie yelped, James yelled and Hugo cried.

"Yes yes yes yes" James chanted.

"What?" Lily was confused by how happy James was.

"He stepped on Piggy!" James yelled.

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big,**

**squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

"EVEN BETTER" James yelled.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying atthe foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harrydidn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for abouthalf an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffledmiserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived,right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in greenink.**

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces**

**before his eyes.**

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up**

**the mail slot.**

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they**

**can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

"No they won't" James smirked.

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like**

**you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of**

**fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Does he mean that offensively?" Lily asked.

"No he just complimented all of wizardkind, intentionally" Rosie told her (with a lot of intended sarcasm!)

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go**

**through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through thesides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairsbathroom.**

"Well good to see they're consistant" Rosie giggled.

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out**

**a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doorsso no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as heworked, and jumped at small noises.**

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry**

**found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two**

**dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia throughthe living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls tothe post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, AuntPetunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

"**Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in**

**amazement.**

"Hogwarts!!" Everyone yelled.

*** * ***

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking**

**tired and rather ill, but happy.**

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmaladeon his newspapers,**

"Wait what?" Lily asked.

"He spread marmalade on his NEWSPAPERS?" James laughed "I don't know if that's some psycho muggle thing but that's just crazy!"

"**no damn letters today —"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and**

**caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letterscame pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harryleapt into the air trying to catch one —**

Al applauded quietly "Good some sence!"

"**Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces,Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters stillstreaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great**

**tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five**

**minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No**

**arguments!"**

"Sure that'll work" Rosie sighed.

"Well it might not, we've never tried to run away form letters" Hugo argued.

"Shut up" was the best Rosie could come up with.

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared**

**argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-updoors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling inthe back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up whilehe tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Stupid kid they said just a few clothes!" Rosie sighed.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they**

**were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and**

**drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

"**Shake 'em off…shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling.**

**He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five**

**television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long withoutblowing up an alien on his computer.**

"This boy's life makes me feel sad!" Lily and Hugo chuckled.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the**

**outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and**

**damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the**

**windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering.…**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast thenext day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to theirtable.**

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of**

**these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of theway. The woman stared.**

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her**

**from the dining room.**

"Told you it wouldn't work Hugo" Rosie smirked.

"Shut up Rose!!" Hugo whined.

*** * ***

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly,hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he waslooking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, gotout, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across asuspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that**

**afternoon.**

"Yes darling, he has been for a while now" lily sighed trying to sound like her mother did. Everyone laughed and it took them a good five minutes to settle down again.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car,**

**and started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I**

**want to stay somewhere with a television."**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday — and you**

**could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television— then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. Of course, hisbirthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coathanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven everyday.**

"That sucks" James sighed.

"Yes James we know!" Rosie told him.

"At least he's staying positive!" Lily chirped.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thinpackage and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked**

**like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most**

**miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was notelevision in there.**

"Oh no how will they go on" James gasped.

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his**

**hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather**

**wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks anda chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reachedthe rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the brokendownhouse.**

"This'll be good" James laughed wickidly.

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled**

**through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty.**

**There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four**

**bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and**

**shriveled up.**

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance**

**of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, thoughthe thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high**

**waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy**

**windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and**

**made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon wentoff to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit offloor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

"Ugh, They are so desperate to get away from these letters" Rosie sighed.

"I know but I bet something good will happen!!" James was still smirking.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry**

**couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his**

**stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rollsof thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch,which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd beeleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer,wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all,**

"I hate to say this but they probably won't" Al said.

"Either that or he'll get some nice socks!" Lily said (overly sarcastically)

**wondering where the letterwriter was now.**

Lily snickered "Letter Writer, good name!"

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the**

**roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutesto go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they gotback that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

"ooh good plan!" Hugo laughed.

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that?**

**And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rockcrumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds...twenty…ten…nine —**

**maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

"Oh my gosh do that, PLEASE" James pleaded.

— **three…two…one…**

**BOOM.**

"Wait what?" Lily asked.

"BOOM" Rosie repeated.

"Why boom?" AL asked.

"I don't know" Rosie snapped.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door.**

**Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"I told you something cool would happen!" James laughed.


	5. The Keeper of the keys

**Disclamer:-I don't own Harry .**

**Authors Note:-*Takes a deep breath*.Ok .This is it .This is the last chapter by next chapter will be written by me. The characters may be a bit different but I will try to keep it the same way. I have no idea how long it will take to update it but I will try to update Guys,please review even though I know I haven't written these chapters but I want to know if anyone is reading it.i may bring harry and company or the maraunders and lily. Please tell me whether I should bring any or whether I should bring both? **

"ok I don't want to read another chapter" Rosie sighed.

"Wait what! Rose come on we want to know where the BOOM came from!" James complained bopping up and down in his seat.

"here I'll read" Albus sighed "the next chapter is called The Keeper of the Keys"

"the what?" Hugo asked, confused.

Rosie shook her head "THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS" She repeated in a tone acceptable for talking to a five year old.

"Shut up and start!" Hugo huffed.

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"I wonder, does he ever not say something stupidly?" Lily asked.

"Yeah I guess they don't even need to add that" James laughed.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the**

**room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in thelong, thin package he had brought with them.**

"To be honest if it's a wizard a rifle won't do much good" Rosie commented.

"So, he's not what you'd call hugely intelligent" Hugo and lilly laughed at James's response.

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

James threw his hands up dramatically and yelled "first BOOM now SMASH when will the horrors end??"

Lily laughed but threw a pillow at her idiot of a brother. Al helped by placing a scilencing charm on him.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with**

**a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

"Ok this could easily be the weirdest birthday ever" Lily sighed.

"Yeah its so dramatic" James gushed (in a tone commonly found with fangirls!)

Hugo and Al laughed and Rosie just rolled her eyes.

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost**

**completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, butyou could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"HAGRID" They all cheered at once!

"Wow Hagrid must be really old then" Hugo said.

"Well yes he has giant blood in him doesn't he so he'll live longer" Rosie explained.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just**

**brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily backinto its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned tolook at them all.**

James suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ummm James he hasn't said anything yet" Al told him as if questioning his brothers sanity.

"Yeah but I bet it'll be good!" he answered like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey.…"**

James smirked as he watched everyone else laugh at Hagrid, "Told ya!"

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

"Bet he'll just love that wont he?" Lily snickered.

"Oh well" Hugo laughed.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching,**

**terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Hang on" Hugo interrupted, "Rose read the first part of that sentence again."

"**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother"**Rosie read. "So?"

"Well how does he fit?" Hugo asked.

Lilly giggled "He doesn't he probably has all his edges sticking out!"

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

Rosie and Hugo rolled their eyes as their cousins cheered at the mention of their father.

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle**

**eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

"You know that's not a very flattering description" Al commented.

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot likeyer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"Oh shut up" Lily snapped.

"Ok what is it with you guys and talking to inanimate objects its really annoying!!" Rosie whined.

"Get over it" James laughed.

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and**

**entering!"**

"So?" Hugo asked.

"Yeah its not like Hagrid will care" Albus added.

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the**

**back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knotas easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

The kids laughed really hard at that but Hugo sat thinking hard.

"Ok whats wrong?" Lily asked seeing her cousin's face.

"Well yeah that'll freak the Dursleys out but wont it freak Uncle Harry out too?" He asked.

"I don't think so, I'm pretty sure Uncle Harry isn't sensible enough yet to be scared of that kind of thing" Rosie said causing a new wave of laughter.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

"**Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very**

**happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at somepoint, but it'll taste all right."**

"Oh that's so nice, a squished present" James nodded (with much sarcasm in his voice.)

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed**

**box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolatecake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.**

"AWWWWW Hagrid is such a softy!" Lilly squeeked.

"Eeew squished cake" Hugo added.

"Oh shut up Hugo it doesn't change how it tastes, and it's the thought that counts" Rosie told him.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got**

**lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"that's not very polite" Rosie sniffed.

"Who cares Rose Hagrid won't care" James answered.

Rose shook her head "That's not the point though."

**The giant chuckled.**

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and**

**Grounds at Hogwarts."**

"OOOOOH" Hugo nodded.

"What?" Lilly asked.

"that's where the chapter title came from" he explained.

"wow Hugo you just got that?" Al laughed at his cousin.

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not**

**say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

Rosie shook her head and mumbled "typical"

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he**

**snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doingbut when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled thewhole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over himas though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

"Well that's nice" Rosie commented.

"But I thought Hagrid wasn't allowed to do magic" James said.

"Oh yeah! He got expelled didn't he" Hugo asked.

"wonder why?" Lilly added.

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and**

**began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, asquashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and abottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to maketea.**

"Wow, he carries a portable kitchen in his pockets!" James sighed his voice full of excitement.

"and that's not all" Lilly told him.

"Uh come on Lilly you're just exciting him more!" Rosie scolded.

"Shut up and let me read! Or ill make someone else do it!" Albus told them, which succeeded in shutting them up.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody**

**said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy,slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**

"You don't need fattening up fatty!!" James yelled.

"I just want Dad to get some food!" Albus said, "I don't care if the pig gets some too as long as Dad gets fed."

"But if he happens not to get any- that wouldn't be such a bad thing" Lily giggled.

**Uncle Vernonsaid sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don'**

**worry."**

Everyone laughed at the schools gamekeeper.

"Good the pig wont get any!!" Lily snickered.

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted**

**anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant.**

"I'm finding my father is quite a hypocrite, he tells us not to stare and yet here he is staring away!" James whined.

"James isn't it Aunt Ginny who told you not to stare?" Rosie asked.

"Shut up" he snapped.

**Finally, asnobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don'treally know who you are."**

"Really Dad learn to listen, he said his name is Hagrid." Lily said.

"Yeah but that doesn't say much does it?" Al told her.

"Whatever Albus just read!" Lily huffed.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of**

**Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

"No- should he?" Hugo asked.

"Well I think so but I wouldn't put it past the Dersleys to not tell someone something like that" Rosie answered.

Lily hissed at her cousins comment, they all knew the day Lily met the Dersleys would not be a good day in the slightest.

"**Er — no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

"Ok so they were meant to tell him" James concluded, looking proud of himself for figuring that out for himself.

"No Duh " Hugo laughed.

"**Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"**Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back**

**into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yerletters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin'out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

"**All what?" asked Harry.**

"something tells me something bad is going to happen" Rosie groaned.

James had a very fake coughing fit but all of them heard him say 'pessimist' half way through.

Rosie threw a pillow at him and he shut up.

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The**

**Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

"Told ya!" Rosie sang.

"Umm Rose we never disagreed with you" Albus pointed out.

"Way to ruin a moment Potter" Rose huffed.

"**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this**

**boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and**

**his marks weren't bad.**

"Yeah but something tells me that that's not what Hagrid means by 'anything'" James said.

"**I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your**

**world. My world. Yer parents' world."**

"**What world?"**

"Hagrid wont like that" Lily said, she was enjoying the fact that Hagrid was taking his anger out on the Dersleys. In fact all of them were enjoying that.

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded**

**like "Mimblewimble."**

All the kids burst out laughing at that.

"Is that even a word?" James asked.

"No" Rosie told him while the others continued to laugh.

**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"**But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're**

**famous. You're famous."**

"**What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"Hello- he just said they were!" Lily said "He doesn't listen does he?"

"I think hes just not the quickest to trust" Rosie told her and Hugo nodded in agreement.

"**Yeh don' know...yeh don' know...." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair,**

**fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

"**Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy**

**anything!"**

"Im surprised I didn't think he had it in him to stand up to Hagrid" Hugo chuckled.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious**

**look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled withrage.**

"I've never seen Hagrid so angry" One of them said. They all nodded in agreement.

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left**

**fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it**

**from him all these years?"**

"**Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

"Dad, you're a wizard" Lily said to the book.

Everyone stared at her, wondering if she was still sane.

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid.**

"Yeh go boil yer heads" James agreed mimicking Hagrids accent.

"That would do the world a favor" Hugo agreed.

"**Harry — yer a wizard."**

Everyone cheered even though they obviously knew already.

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could**

**be heard.**

"**I'm a what?" gasped Harry.**

"A W-I-Z-A-R-D WIZARD" Rosie said in the same tone she had used earlier on her brother.

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which**

**groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've beentrained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' Ireckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Oh good he gets his letter" Rosie smiled, as did the others.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope,**

**addressed in emerald green to**

**Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The**

**Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

"Don't you find it funny how no matter how the Dersleys try to improve where he sleeps the letter makes it sound horrible." Al laughed.

"What?" Hugo and Lily asked.

"Well first letter said 'cupboard under the stairs' then they move him to his own room and it says 'smallest bedroom' stuff like that" He explained.

The others started laughing now.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,International Confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts Schoolof Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary booksand begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**Deputy Headmistress**

"Oh Merlin my letter was exactly the same" James laughed.

"Except it said Hedmistress: Minerva McGonagall and Neville Longbottom Deputy Headmaster."

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decidewhich to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, theyawait my owl?"**

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his**

**forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet anotherpocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-lookingowl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teethhe scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**

**Given Harry his letter.**

**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**

**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**

**Hagrid**

"quick and to the point" Rosie nodded.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, wentto the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and satdown as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"Well for us it is" Lily said, she was still having trouble believing how… uniformed her father was about his own world.

"I guess but to be honest I see his point" James said. (this raised a lot of eyebrows as James was a bit on the slow side and rarely picked up on things so quickly).

"Really?" Albus asked, just as shocked as most everyone else.

"Well yeah it would be like if any of us saw a muggle using a telephone wouldn't it, its not what we're used to and we'd think its completely crazy" James explained not quite sure why nobody else had picked up on this as quickly as he had.

"Couldn't have said it better myself" Rosie smiled in approval.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashenfacedbut looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

"**He's not going," he said.**

"Yes he is" Lily sang.

"Id like to see him try stop Uncle Harry from going, it would be entertaining." Hugo laughed.

**Hagrid grunted.**

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

"**A what?" said Harry, interested.**

"Oh Merlin help us all, he doesn't even know what a muggle is." Hugo sighed his Uncle was sounding more and more pathetic by the minute… or sentence.

"Its like his is a muggle" Lilly agreed.

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's**

**your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle**

**Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

"You can't stamp it out!" James yelled, "Can you?" He asked turning to Rosie.

"Yes you can but only by using very dark magic, Harry's Uncle wouldn't be able to do it." She told him.

"Ok so HE can't stamp it out" James corrected himself.

"**You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a — a wizard?"**

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How**

**could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter justlike that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home everyvacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was theonly one who saw her for what she was — a freak!**

"Oi! We aren't freaks!!" James yelled.

"Well we aren't, to be frank Im not so sure about you" Lily laughed trying to lighten the mood. Every one laughed and James pretended to glare at his little sister.

**But for my mother andfather, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch inthe family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she**

**had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"She probably has," they all said at once.

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had**

**you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —abnormal**

A faint hissing sound could be heard near the Potter kids.

— **and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we**

**got landed with you!"**

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up?**

**You told me they died in a car crash!"**

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys**

**scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter?It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when everykid in our world knows his name!"**

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, whenDumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yehdidn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — butsomeone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

"As he should, personally I think he should do worse" Hugo snapped. This also surprised a lot of the kids, Hugo usually kept his temper in check- Rose was more known for letting her temper get the better of her. Wordlessly the kids decided not to agrivate Hugo for a while.

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh**

**everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it.…"**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins,**

**I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his**

**name, everyone in our world knows —"**

"**Who?"**

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

"Why not?" All the kids said at the same time.

"**Why not?"**

"Exactly" Lily smiled.

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult.**

**See, there was this wizard who went ...bad. As bad as you could go. Worse.**

**Worse than worse. His name was..."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

"**Nah — can't spell it. All right — Voldemort. " Hagrid shuddered. "Don'**

**make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now,started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some justwanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Darkdays, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strangewizards or witches…terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course,some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe placesleft was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who wasafraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew.**

**Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-**

**Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before…probably knew they weretoo close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em...maybe he just wanted 'em outta**

**the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living,on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'**

— **an' —"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his**

**nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people**

**yeh couldn't find — anyway….**

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the**

**thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, ormaybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered howyou got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yehget when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an'yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killedsome o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones,the Prewetts — an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

All the kids had gone noticibly white here. They felt so horrible for Harry and they never had any idea the huge number of people he had killed, yes they understood that many people had died but they figured 'many' had been used as a lose term.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story**

**came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly thanhe had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, forthe first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

Tears were rolling down Rosie's eyes, an Lily had pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them to herself. The boys had all gone very quiet and their faces became expressionless.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought**

**yeh ter this lot…."**

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon.**

"Shut up" Lily snarled.

**Harry jumped; he had almostforgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to havegot back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange**

**about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

"Don't you dare" Rosie and lily were suddenly on their feet, nobody put it past the Dersleys to beat a child just for being different.

**and as forall this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and theworld's better off without them in my opinion**

"YOU FAT LUMP KEEP YOUR BLODDY MOUTH SHUT OR I SWEAR I WILL FIND A WAY TO MAKE SOMETHING VERY BAD HAPPEN TO YOU AND YOUR PRESIOUS 'DIDDYKINS'" Lily screeched.

Everyone retreated a bit from the fuming girl. Mind you all the Potters looked completely terrifying.

— **asked for all they got, getting**

**mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew**

**they'd come to a sticky end —"**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink**

**umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he**

**said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…."**

"Thank you" Lily sighed.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant,**

**Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall andfell silent.**

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the**

**sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill**

**you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see…he was**

**gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough**

**human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but Idon' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'emcame outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin'back."Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Tooweak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There wassomethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — I dunno what it was, noone does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but**

**Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a**

**horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be?**

"He's a bit insecure isn't he" James sighed.

"Well you'd be too wouldn't you I mean look what he's got for a family." Hugo told him.

**He'd spent his lifebeing clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if hewas really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every timethey'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatestsorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick himaround like a football?**

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't**

**think I can be a wizard."**

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or**

**angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it…every odd thing**

**that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he,Harry, had been upset or angry…chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehowfound himself out of their reach…dreading going to school with that ridiculoushaircut, he'd managed to make it grow back...and the very last time Dudley hadhit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it?Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"Yep all accidental magic" Rosie smiled.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively**

**beaming at him.**

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right**

**famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall**

**High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of**

**rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid.**

"**Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's beendown ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft andwizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll bewith youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatestheadmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—"**

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO**

**TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Oh Hagrid won't like that will he?" Lily snickered evily.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it**

**over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS —**

**DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"**

"YES" The kids knew some form of revenge would be seen here and they couldn't wait to see what it was.

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley**

**there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, andthe next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over hisfat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw acurly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

"BRILLIANT" Everyone (even Rosie) cheered.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other**

**room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behindthem.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway.**

**Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anywaythere wasn't much left ter do."**

"**too right!" James laughed.**

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said.**

"**I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do abit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was sokeen ter take on the job."**

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh**

**the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. ButDumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

"**Why were you expelled?"**

"He's being really nosy" Rosie shook her head obviously she disapproved of asking such personal questions.

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly.**

"**Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I stillgot a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Lovely" Rose said, a bit disgusted.

"Well that's the end of the chapter" Albus told them.

"Can we take a break before the next one?" Lily asked.

"Yeah come on lets get some food." Hugo jumped up.


	6. Diagon Alley

**Disclamer:-I don't own harry I have to write this every chapter?**

**Author's Note:-OK,my first chapter for this story. Yes, I am actually continuing this.I wrote the first part of this chapter a long back. I don't mind constructive criticism so you can tell me what is wrong but not in a rude way. My style may be different from the other chapters as you know know I am a different person. :]**

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts!**

* * *

"Let's go to the room of requirement. We don't want anyone to interrupt us."James said.

"Wow, you are actually talking sense for once!" Lily said surprised.

"Ok, I think it's better to go and read there." Rose said.

They al went to the room of requirement and settled down to read.

"Can I read next?" Hugo asked

"Sure" Lily said.

"**DIAGON ALLEY**" Hugo read

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was**

**daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

**"It was a dream", he told himself firmly.**

"No it wasn't" James said.

"You do know that he can't hear you?" Rose asked.

**"I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

"I hope not." Lily said nervously

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise**. **And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

"IT WASN'T A DREAM!" James screamed.

"Just shut up, James." Albus said.

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him.**

"SEE TOLD YOU!!!" James said at the top of his voice.

"James don't interrupt and let me read. We all know it's not a dream." Hugo said irritably.

"Hugo, I didn't know you know such big words such as interrupt." Rose teased.

Hugo pouted.

**The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

**"Don't do that."**

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak**

**fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl."**

"You're supposed to give him money", Lily said simply.

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**"What?"**

"You are supposed to pay him money for the newspaper. Don't the muggles pay money for their newspaper?" Albus asked

"Of course they do. Uncle Harry just doesn't know how to pay for it." Rose explained.

"Oh."

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -- bunches of**

**keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...**

**finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

"Wow that's a lot of pockets!" Hugo exclaimed.

"I want a coat like that!" James demanded.

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

**"Knuts?"**

"Knuts are the little bronze coins. One sickle is equal to…." Rose said.

"Rosie, I think we all know what a knut is." Albus said.

Rose pouted.

**"The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg So Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then**

**he flew off through the open window.**

"Of course it will fly through a open window .It cant fly through a closed window." James stated.

"James, if you say something unnecessary again, I will hex you soo hard that you wont forget it for a long time." Lily threatened

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

"He could still fit in the cottage?" Hugo asked

"Hmm, you know, that's a good question……",Albus said

**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy**

**all yer stuff fer school."**

"YAY!!!!!!!DIAGON ALLEY!!!!!"Everyone screamed.

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

**"Um -- Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money -- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he**

**won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

"Of course his parents would have left him something. Wouldn't they?" Rose said.

"Yup ,Grandpa and Grandma left him some money. Actually a lot." Lily said.

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his**

**head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

"See told you." Lily said.

"We never argued." Albus said annoyed.

**"But if their house was destroyed --"**

"It will be in Gringotts wont it? They wont keep all their gold in their house." Hugo said.

"He's lived with muggles all his life! He wont know. Though Muggles also have banks. And who keeps money in their house? Wont it get stolen. I think I know where James got his brains." Rose explained.

"Are you calling my father stupid and idiotic?" Lily asked.

"And with a pea sized brain?" Albus added.

"Yeah, you can't insult our father. Wait, I am not stupid, idiotic and with a pea sized brain!" James protested catching on.

"Yeah? You sure did mistake me." Lily said.

"Hey!!!! You can't …" James said.

"Can we please continue reading?" Hugo asked.

"Hmph" James huffed.

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold -- an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

"Don't eat it if it is made by Hagrid!" Albus exclaimed.

**"Wizards have banks?"**

"Duh!! Where do you think we keep all our money?" James asked.

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

**"Goblins?"**

"Yeah, creepy things and it looks like they don't like dad." Albus said.

"Yeah, it doesn't look they like Mom and Dad too much too." Hugo said.

"And goblins are not things, they are people. OK, not people but they are living beings." Rose said annoyed.

**"Yeah -- so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never**

**mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe -- 'cept maybe Hogwarts.**

"Maybe Dad, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron robbed Gringotts!" James said.

"Yeah,like that's possible." Albus said.

"Please try and think before saying something the next time." Lily said.

"And why would they want to rob Gringotts?" Rose asked.

**As a matter o'fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts -- knows he can trust me, see."**

"We can all trust Hagrid." Albus stated.

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"He can fly without a broom? Cool!!!! I wanna learn how to do that!" James said.

"He probably used a spell." Rose said.

"Oh."

**"Yeah -- but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"We are too!!!" Hugo said.

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter -- er -- speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

"Nah, Dad's not going to tell." James said

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

"But you did." James said.

"Are you still stuck with that theory?" Lily asked wearily.

"Yes, I bet Dad, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron rob Gringotts." James said

"I take you on that bet for a gallon." Lily said.

"Me too." Albus and Rose said.

"You know, I think I will go with James." Hugo said.

"Are you mad?" Lily asked.

"No I just have a feeling." Hugo said.

**"Spells -- enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way -- Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out,even if you did manage to get yer hands on summat."**

"Dad did." James said

"Its not proved yet so just SHUT UP!" Lily said getting more annoyed by the minute.

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this,but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

"Its okay, you can ask Hagrid." Albus said.

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

"The ministry is fine now." Lily said.

"But it was bad that time." Rose said.

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop**

**himself.**

"Duh!" Hugo said.

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, 0f course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

"The ministry of magic does many ….."Rose said.

"Rose, we all know what the ministry of magic does." Albus said irritated.

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

"Because ….."Rose said.

"I think Hagrid will answer the question, so can we just read?" Lily said irritated.

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"He really shouldn't say that." Rose said.

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

"Do you think he ever got a dragon?" Albus asked.

"I think he did……"Lily said.

**"You'd like one?"**

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid -- here we go."**

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five**

**minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

Everyone chuckled.

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First-year students will require:**

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set**

**glass or crystal phials**

**telescope set**

**brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"Dad was in the team in his first year!!!!! He was the best seeker ever!" James said excited.

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

"DIAGON ALLEY!!!"

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

"Of course, the seats are not made for half giants." Lily said.

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"Yeah,that's true." Albus said.

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out,** **Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"Only wizards can see it." Rose said.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

Everyone chuckled.

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this -- can this**

**be --?"**

"ITS HARRY POTTER!!!!" James shrieked.

"JAMES, STOP SCREAMING." Rose said.

"You are screaming." James pouted.

Rose chose to ignore this.

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter...what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

"Wow, someone's emotional." Hugo commented.

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand -- I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

Everyone chuckled. That guy was barmy.

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again -- Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

Lily giggled at this.

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand,**

**"c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

James opened his mouth to say something at this but Rose held up her hand and mouthed "Let him finish the paragraph."

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

"This person is going to teach DADA?"James said.

"I know, it's weird. Why would the headmaster hire such a person for dada?" Albus asked.

"Maybe the person knows his stuff." Rose said uncertainly.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

"It must be really loud if Hagrid can't make himself heard." Lily said.

**"Must get on -- lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh -- mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

Everyone chuckled at this.

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was** **studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience.... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"**

"He's going to use magic!" James said.

"No, he is just going to open the door to Diagon Alley." Rose said.

"Oh!"

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered -- it wriggled -- in the middle, a small hole appeared -- it grew wider and wider -- a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

"Diagon alley!" James and Hugo said together.

"We all know that." Rose said but she was smiling.

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.**

**Cauldrons -- All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver -- Self-Stirring**

**Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money**

**first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

Hugo shivered at this because it reminded him of spiders.

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad...."**

"It's even more expensive now." Rose commented.

"How do you know that?" Hugo said.

"You might know that if you went for shopping once in a while and not let mum do everything." Rose huffed.

"You know….."Hugo said.

"Can we just continue?" Lily said irritably.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium -- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand -- fastest ever --"**

"Its not." James said. "The firebolt320 is the fastest broom."

"It must be at that time." Rose said.

"I think that was Dad's first broom." Albus said.

Suddenly there was a huge bang and five people appeared in the room.

"Where are we?" Neville asked.

"I don't know."Hermione said.

"Wow, that's a first." Ron teased Hermione.

"Mum? Dad?" Hugo said awestruck.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked apprehensively.

"Why are you calling Ron and Hermione Mum and Dad?" Harry asked taking out his wand. Were they some kind of Death Eaters?

"Well, I'm Rose, he's Hugo and they are James, Albus and Lily." Rose said.

"James? Lily?" Harry asked.

"Well, the last time I checked you named us that." Lily said.

"I named…." Harry said.

"Well, you see I think you have come to the future." Rose said.

"FUTURE!!" Everyone from the past exclaimed.

"Yeah, you see we are your kids." Albus said.

"KIDS?!"

"Yeah me and Hugo are Ron and Hermione's children and James, Albus and Lily are yours and Aunt Ginny's children. And Uncle Neville, you are our herbology professor." Rose said.

"YES!" Ginny exclaimed doing a little jig.

"You already knew that, love." Harry said soothingly.

"But still, this is verification." Ginny said.

Harry just smiled at her.

"I marry Hermione?" Ron asked.

"No, they are children out of wedlock." Albus said.

Hermione and Ron looked appalled.

"ALBUS!" Lily admonished.

"Of course you are married." Hugo said.

"Good, for a second there I thought that was true." Ron said.

"You and Aunt Hermione are the cutest couple ever." Lily said smiling at them.

The couple in question blushed.

"I'm a professor?" Neville asked astonished.

" Yeah and also the head of Griffindor."Albus said.

"Your strongest subject was after all herbology." Hermione said.

"Thanks." Neville blushed.

"Wait, what is the proof?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I'm James Sirius Potter named after two of Hogwarts most notorious pranksters James Potter and Sirius Black also known as Prongs and Padfoot. And yes, you have an invisibility cloak and the maraunders map which shows the map of Hogwarts." James said smirking.

"Oh, Ok. I think I believe you."

"Anyways,we were reading a book about your life,Uncle Harry." Rose said.

"There are books written about my life?" Harry asked wearily.

"Apparently." Albus said.

"You see we knew nothing about your life and we wanted to know why you were so famous and therefore this book appeared." Lily explained.

"Ok,so we will be careful not to apoil anything for you." Ginny smirked.

"That's not fair!" Hugo said.

"Ok,Lets continue. I wanna read more." James said.

"That's a first."Albus said.

James pouted at this.

"Ok this book is about your first year, Daddy and you are at Diagon Alley." Lily said.

"OH, that part is good. I loved my first visit to Diagon Alley." Harry said smirking at being called Daddy.

Everyone nodded their heads at this.

"I love the ice cream." Hugo and Ron said at the same time.

"Ok that's weird." Neville said.

"Wait I just realized something…..POTTER YOU HAD KIDS WITH MY SISTER!" Ron said taking out his wand.

Harry looked positively scared.

"Umm…" He said backing away.

"YOU JUST TRY AND CURSE HIM RONALD!" Ginny said furiously.

Ron looked scared and sat back down.

"Some things never change. She's still just as scary." James mumbled

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon....**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other**

**little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a**

**uniform of scarlet and gold, was –**

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white**

**stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

**Enter, stranger, but take heed**

**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**

**For those who take, but do not earn,**

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

**So if you seek beneath our floors**

**A treasure that was never yours,**

**Thief, you have been warned, beware**

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

"Yup, you would be." Neville whispered and Ginny barely her smirk.

The trio pouted at this.

" Did you three rob Gringotts?" James asked pointing at the Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Uhh,I'm not going to tell you." Harry said. Is it just a guess or does he know?

"Aw, come on. I'm your oldest child?" James said putting on a puppy dog face.

"Really?" Ginny asked.

"And that puppy dog face only works with Lily. She's Dad's pet." Albus said.

Harry looked at Lily carefully.

"I so am not. I'm just better than you two." Lily said smugly.

"Yeah right." The potter boys said sarcastically.

"Ok I don't want anyone to interrupt now. This way we might never be able to finish this book." Rose said.

The people from the past looked on to this amusedly.

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.**

**There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, Sir?"**

"Duh!"James said.

Rose glared at him.

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"If Uncle Harry is anything like these two idiots over here he really shouldn't have said that." Rose said.

"HEY!!" The idiots in question said.

"Nope, he shouldn't have." Hermione said smiling at Rose.

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have Someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

"Griphook was the one who opened your vault the first time?' Hermione asked.

Harry nodded.

"Does it mean we are going to see more of Griphook?" Lily asked.

Harry just smiled.

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts**

**business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

"Not helping. It only is going to increase dad's curiosity." Lily said.

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in -- Hagrid with some difficulty -- and were off.**

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. **

"Trust me, I tried ." James said.

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart,**

**"what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid.**

Hermione looked appalled at this and said. "Stalagmite is…."

"I know what it is know, 'moine" Harry said chuckling.

**"An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

"What about all the potter family artifacts?" Al asked.

"Potter family artifacts? I will have to check that with Gringotts…."Harry said thoughtfully.

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's -- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking.**

**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? **

"How could someone do that to their own nephew?" Rose said.

"Well, they are doing it aren't they?" Lily said barely holding her anger.

**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now,please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"NO FASTER!!!" James screamed.

"_Silencio._ I will reverse the spell after this chapter is over." Rose said.

"She's just like you." Harry laughed.

"She is my daughter after all." Hermione said beaming.

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"_Harry!"_Ginny said exasperated.

Harry gave a sheepish smile.

"That's exactly what the boys did when they went the first time." Lily said.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

The trio made a face at that.

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least -- but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

"That's a first." Ron said.

Harry mock glared at him.

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

"That applies for Hugo too." Lily laughed.

Hugo glared at her.

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside**

**Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life -- more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"You deserve it dad." Albus smiled.

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them**

**Gringotts carts."**

Everyone chuckled at this.

"Typical Hagrid." Ginny laughed.

**He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here -- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face**

**was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

"Let me introduce you to Draco Malfoy." Harry said.

"Scorp's dad." Rose said.

"That ferret reproduced? Who married him? Or did he just knock someone up?" Ron asked looking like he was going to vomit.

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, he reproduced." Hugo said. "And has a git for a son."

"Scorpius's not a git." Al and Rose said. "He married Astoria Greengrass."

"Astoris Greengrass?" Ron replied confused.

"Yeah she's in my year. She is one of the okay slytherins." Ginny said.

"And yes, he is a git." Hugo said continuing and James nodded vigorously.

"The stupid inter-house rivalry is still going on?" Hermione asked.

" Yeah but Scorpius is not like his father." Albus said protecting his best friend.

"Yeah he's Al's best friend. And… Lily said.

"Shut up Lily." Rose said glaring at her cousin.

"My son is Malfoy's son's best friend?!" Harry asked horrified.

"You have got it bad, Harry." Ron said.

"No, you have got it even more bad, Uncle Ron." Lily said laughing.

"Yeah, Rosie is dating Scorp." Al said.

"WHAT??!!!!!!" Ron exclaimed.

"Come on Ron. They are saying that he's not like his father. Give the poor boy a chance." Hermione said.

"That was exactly the reaction Dad had. Maybe you have not changed much after all." Hugo said.

"Can we continue?" Neville asked.

"My daughter's life is at stake and you…. Ron said.

"Ron, don't be so melodramatic." Ginny said.

"Please continue Hugo." Hermione said.

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

"Duh!" Hugo said.

"Hugo, do you want to be cursed along with James?" Rose threatened.

"Rose don't threaten your brother!" Hermione said coming into mother mode.

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to took at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

"What a git." Lily said.

"He's kind of like Dudley." Albus said.

Harry looked weirdly at him.

"What?"

"You will see." Harry replied.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

Albus blinked a several times.

By this time James was jumping up and down.

He was mouthing 'Please Lift the charm.'

"I have already lifted the charm five minutes ago." Rose said.

"That's not fair." James pouted.

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on. **

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"You don't know about Quidditch?" James asked horrified.

"Now I do." Harry laughed.

"That's just sad." James said.

"Yeah, Dad was made to sleep in a cupboard and you find it sad that he doesn't know about Quidditch? You need to set your priorities straight, James." Lily said incredulously.

**"I do -- Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

James opened his mouth to say something but Rose shut it with a glare.

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know**

**I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been -- imagine being in**

**Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"Theres nothing wrong with hufflepuffs!" Neville said indignantly.

"Oh yeah Aunt Hannah was in Hufflepuff." Albus said slyly.

"Aunt Hannah?" Ron asked with a mischievous smirk.

"Is there something you are not telling us Neville?" Harry asked joining in.

"Leave the poor boy alone!" Ginny said.

"Gosh sometimes she sounds like mum." Ron said.

"You should see her when she's angry." James said.

Ginny shot James a look.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't.**

**"He works at Hogwarts."**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"Hagrid is not a servant!" Everyone exclaimed.

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

"See one more thing in which Scorp is different from his father. He would never insult Hagrid." Rose said smugly.

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage -- lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"Oi!" Ron said.

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

"Go Dad!" James cheered.

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other,. not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

"How rude!" Rose said appalled.

"That's Draco Malfoy to you." Ron said smugly.

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

"I'm liking him less and less every second." Albus said frowning.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy,**

**hopped down from the footstool.**

"Good!" Hugo exclaimed.

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"I hope not!" James said.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him(chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know -- not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

"Yeah, go ahead, make him feel even more bad." Hermoine said sarcastically.

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"--and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."**

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were -- he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones**

**with magic in 'em in a long line 0' Muggles -- look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"Hear, Hear." Ron, Hugo , Albus and James said together.

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like -- like soccer in the Muggle world -- everyone follows Quidditch -- played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls -- sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"That's not justice to the game!" Ron exclaimed and James nodded in agreement.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but --"**

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

"Nah dad, you are in Gryffindor." Lily said giving a wave in the air with her hand.

Everyone looked at her like she was mad.

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

"Duh." Neville said like it was obvious.

"I didn't know anything!" Harry said defending himself.

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"Nice!" James said with a shine in his eyes.

"Dad's not gonna let you buy it." Albus said.

Harry jumped. It feet weird to know that the person they were calling dad was him in the future.

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"I can help you." James said mysteriously.

"It's fine. I don't need any help." Harry laughed.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," **

"Pity." Ron commented.

**said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list")**

"I wanted a gold one too!" Lily exclaimed.

**, but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. **

"Eew!" Rose said.

**While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

**"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

**Harry felt himself go red. "You don't have to --"**

"No he has to." Hugo said seriously.

Everyone looked at him in a weird way.

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago,**

Everyone from the past smirked at Neville.

Neville frowned.

**yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. **

"Look 'moine! Even Hagrid hates cats!" Ron said like it settled everything.

"I have a cat! And mum had one too!" Rose exclaimed.

Ron groaned softly.

"Had?" Hermione asked tearfully.

"Yeah, he died a few years ago." Hugo said.

"Ok he was bound to die someday I guess." Hermoine said wiping tears from her eyes.

Ron squeezed her hand softly.

**I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want a owl, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

"Not pig!" Ron laughed.

Hermione glared at him and he stopped laughing abruptly.

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.**

Harry immediately tensed up. He still grieved in the loss of his first friend.

Ginny squeezed his hand tightly.

"Dad's first owl." Albus whispered.

Rose and Lily glared at him at the same time.

"Yeah, Hedwig." Harry said softly.

"Ok, I will continue reading." Hugo said awkwardly.

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys.**

"You are right over there." Ginny said bitterly.

**Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

"That man is creepy." Lily said.

"But he really likes dad." Albus commented.

**A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

"Yeah that's what even I felt when I first entered." Albus commented.

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon.**

**Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes.**

"I have heard that so many times." Harry said rolling his eyes.

"You bet." There were murmurs from the kids from the future.

**It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"It's creepy how he remembers everyone's wands." Ginny said.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

"You bet." James said.

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it -- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

"Of course." Hermione said looking at Harry.

**"And that's where..."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.**

**"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do...."**

"Ollivanders sold Voldemort's wand?" Hugo asked astonished.

"Duh! Who else?" Rose replied.

"I mean it's still creepy…."

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again.... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

"Why did he get expelled?" Lily asked.

"You will find out later." Harry said.

"Yeah dad never told us." Albus said gloomingly.

"Yeah Dad open tell your adventures to your kids!" Ron mock-admonished Harry.

Harry glared at him.

**"Er -- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still**

**got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

Everyone started laughing.

"Yeah right." Ron said laughing.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now -- Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er -- well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

"That's your wand arm too." Neville said.

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, **

"Why does it do that mum?" Hugo asked.

"Umm, I don't know darling." Hermione said crestfallen.

"Hermione Granger not knowing an answer?" Ron laughed.

"Shut up." Hermione hissed.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

**was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"**

**Harry tried -- but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was**

**snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy.**

**Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

**"Tricky customer, eh? **

"I was a tricky customer too. Now I know why Uncle Harry was smirking." Rose said.

Harry just smiled at her.

**Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now - - yes, why not -- unusual combination -- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

"Dad's wand!" The Potter kids exclaimed together.

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

"It's the wand." Lily said.

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

"What''s curious?" James asked.

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..**

"How irritating can a person be?" James muttered.

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

All the children from the future were gaping at Harry.

"Really?" Albus asked.

"Really." Harry said gloomingly.

"That's complicated." Rose said.

"Bloody Hell." Hugo whispered.

"Hugo Weasley! I do not want such language from your mouth again! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" Hermione admonished Hugo.

And then she rounded on Ron and said, "This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?"

"You must have cursed in front of him! The future me should not have let him spend too much time with you!"

"I'm his father!"

"Can we continue?" Harry asked wearily.

**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.... After all, He-**

**Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great."**

"What a nice thing to tell a first year." Hermione said sarcastically still angry with Ron.

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap.**

"Obviously. It's not such a usual sight." Hermione said.

**Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them.**

"You forgot to eat?" Ron and Hugo asked appalled.

They looked at each other and smiled sheepishly.

"Unlike you I do not think about eating all the time." Harry teased them.

"Between these two there would be no food left in your house." Ginny whispered to Hermione.

**Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

"Why?" James and Albus asked together.

"What did I do to deserve these both?" Lily asked Ginny.

Ginny just laughed. "I can understand."

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life -- and yet -- he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry -- I mean, the night my parents died."**

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts,**

"Other than Hermione." Ron coughed.

**you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts -- I did -- still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September -- King's Cross -- it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me.... See yeh soon, Harry."**

"Oh no." Rose said. "Uncle Harry doesn't know how to get on the platform!"

"I think it's good. Isn't that how he met the Weasleys?" Lily asked.

"I guess."

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

**How was it? Review please!**


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